The ANC has retained its Ward 7 in the by-elections that were held in Ngwathe Local Municipality on Wednesday.
The party’s acting regional secretary, Isaac Ngozo, said the party welcomed the elections outcome.
Ngozo said the elections were necessitated by the untimely demise of one of their hard-working and committed cadre of the movement, who served as a ward councillor, Cde Modise Moroenyane.
Moroenyane passed away earlier this year due to a short illness.
He said the party followed its internal democratic processes of selecting a credible candidate by fielding one of the grounded and committed member, Tshidiso Ramabodu, to represent the movement in the by-election.
“The entire elections machinery was directed to focus on delivering a decisive victory for the ANC, which it successfully accomplished with an overwhelming majority of 64,5% of the total votes cast.
“We are, however, concerned by the low voter turnout which was about 38%, we believe that more focus must be placed on ensuring that there is a drastic improvement in this regard across the entire region.
“The ANC in Fezile Dabi Region wishes to congratulate our councillor elect, Cde Tshidiso Ramabodu, in his election and remain confident in his ability to provide leadership to the entire community of Ward 7 and ensure that provision of consistent quality services is a reality,” added Ngozo.
He furthermore thanked the party’s elections structures, party leagues, the alliance partners, its elections machinery, the volunteers of the movement, who he said spared no effort in ensuring that the organisation achieved its victory.
“The ANC appreciates the community of Ward 7 for opening their doors, sharing their views and placing their trust and confidence in the ANC through this decisive re-election.
“The ANC, through its public representative will strive to address issues raised by the community during the campaign.”
The Star
sipho.jack@inl.co.za